Protheroe Family Meal Planning
It’s four o’clock and the children have already had two breakfasts and enough snacks for the whole week. My husband is coming home soon and the dinner mystery has yet to be solved. Oh, and there is barely anything in the pantry or fridge to even compile a meal and 10 minutes is hardly enough time to thaw the meat (we do not use a microwave)….this got so old over the years and it was time to make a shift.
The age old question, “What’s the plan for dinner?” would cause so much anxiety for me and I know that I am not alone in this. Every late afternoon, women around the world are trying to debunk this question. In this post, I am going to share with you what has helped our family find a rhythm and put a plan in place. For me, having this plan in place as allowed me to enjoy cooking and providing nourishing meals for my family. I don’t always get it perfect, I don’t always stick to what is planned, but this is the rhythm that has allowed me to breath easy when dinner time rolls around.
Make a Menu
Making a menu can be daunting and then the very act of following it can cause so much stress. What I have found that works best is looking at our schedule for the upcoming week and seeing what it holds. By looking ahead, I am able to plan well. If we are going to be home every evening with slow afternoons, then I know that I will have time to cook a more time consuming meal. If we have something planned on a specific day, then I know to make an easy meal like a crock pot meal or to make double on a slow day for leftovers on the busy day. When I stopped flying by the seat of my pants and made the shift to planning ahead and planning out meals, the stress around getting dinner on the table, left. What has helped me is looking at the menu when I am “turning down” the house for the next day bed. This will let me know if I need to take any meats out of the freezer or if I am feeling really fancy, I will cut any veggies or take the crock pot out of the cupboard.
Make a Grocery List the Week Prior
This is a new rhythm that I have started to incorporate into our weeks. Having a set day to meal plan, plan a grocery run/pick up, and put the groceries away in an organized way has been such a weight lifted off of my shoulders. This will be different for everyone based off of your schedule, but having a set day to do your planning will help you to be intentional with your meals. I love adding an item to bake as well. My children (and husband) love having that sweet treat to “polish off dinner” and it gives me peace knowing that their sweet treat is something that I made not something filled with sugar and Lord knows what else. Typically, I will grab from our “Family Favorite Meal Recipes” and choose one new recipe to try on a slower day.
Print Out Family Favorite Meals
I cannot tell you how much time I have, and I am sure you have as well, wasted on looking for that recipe I saw on that one person’s Instagram reel, or wait was it their blog?……I know that you know what I mean. I have started to print out or write down my family favorite meals so that meal planning is much easier. I have the recipes right there for the grocery list and cooking. This helps me to remain focused so that I can plan our menu and grocery shopping in a timely manner without getting distracted by scrolling.
Helpful Tools
Having my home be aesthetically pleasing as much as I am able to is important to me. I have also found that when my little reader (Siggy) is able to see what’s coming, it gives him so much peace. So I have created a simple print out for our weekly menu and a grocery list.
Our menu goes into a dry erase pocket so that we can use over and over! Or, you can simply write write on the menu and hang it on the fridge! I print out several grocery lists at a time so that I do not have to remember to print out a list each week. Feel free to utilize this in your home as well!! I would love to see how you are using these tools so be sure to share in your stories and tag @thecozyhomeco_ !
I hope that sharing a bit of I do to prepare for a day of meals is helpful to you in some way. And I pray that as are intentional about gathering around the table for meals, the Lord will heal the parts that have created stress or anxiety around cooking and that He would bless you with a love of cooking for those within your home.
xo, Mary.